


something familiar

by thelunaticghost



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is not a model, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - No Powers, Childhood Friends, F/M, Gen, Minor Character Death, Parallels, Platonic Relationships, You Know Who Dies, bascically they were friends when they were like 5 ., based off a movie, but then adrien moved away and they lost contact and now they are meeting again., idk - Freeform, is it romantic or platonic?, watch me make shit up as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25261393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelunaticghost/pseuds/thelunaticghost
Summary: a week back to one’s childhood city helps reconnect some forgotten connections, and forge newer ones
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. day 1 : rain

**Author's Note:**

> if you missed my tags:  
> -adrien is not a model and gabriel is not a shitty parent  
> -marinette and adrien were friends when they were like 5 but adrien moved away and now they are meeting again
> 
> yeah that's all

Marinette shivered as a wind blew by. Maman had warned her not to go wandering in the neighbourhood alone. But she hadn’t listened.

“I am three, Ma!” she had said, holding up three, chubby fingers. “Three! I am big now!”

“Not big enough to go out alone.” Maman had sternly replied.

Marinette sniffed a little. Maman was going to be very angry with her. Her shoes were soaked in, legs plastered in mud and she was lost in the city in the middle of a downpour.

“Hello.” She heard a soft voice call. She looked up and a blonde woman with green eyes smiled kindly at her. She had an umbrella and a boy with her, around her age. Their eyes locked and he quickly looked away.

“Where are your parents?” the woman asked her.

“I am lost.” Her voice cracked, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She was just going to the Iycee across the street and then a shop just besides it but then had got lost and taken a refugee outside a grocery store. Her home felt far, far away and she feared she might never find her way back home. What if she gets kidnapped by those bad people she saw on television and she never gets to hug her Papa again?

At that she started crying.

“Shh, don’t cry.” The woman said soothingly, bending a little over so that the umbrella was over her too. “It’s okay we will find your parents.”

“Really?” Marinette squeaked, rubbing her eyes.

“Really.” The woman replied, standing up. “What’s your name, dear?”

“Marinette.”

“Marinette! Where do you live?”

“At a bakery near the park.”

“The Dupain-Cheng’s?”

“Yeah.” 

“It’s not far. C’mon I’ll take you back to your parents, they must be worried sick.”

She set off in a slow pace, Marinette trotting up to them timidly.

“I am Emilie Agreste.” The woman introduced herself. “And this is Adrien.” She indicated to the boy in her hand. “Adrien, say hi to Marinette.” The woman nudged her son, who was hiding behind her skirt.

“Hi” he peaked out shyly, his voice a little too high pitched. He was just as tall as her, his damp hair was the colour of wheat and eyes like his mothers. 

“Hello.” 

They lapsed into awkward silence, neither knowing what to say next. She tried to give him a warm smile but he seemed determined to stay out of her sight. She found it strange that he was the one who was embarrassed when _she_ was the one who was found crying.

“So your parents are bakers, huh?” Emilie said, trying to ease the silence between the two toddlers. “Adrien, here loves cookies.”

Marinette blinked at that, and looked over at Adrien who was now looking at her with curiosity. She gave him a small smile and this time he smiled back, teeth and all. 

“My Papa also loves cookies; especially baking them.” She commented enthusiastically “He makes great croissants too! Maman on the other hand is great at pasteries and macaroons. My favourite one is…” 

She rambled on about her parents and the bakery, putting in her own commends now and then. She didn’t notice they had reached her home until she heard her Maman’s voice calling out to her, just outside the bakery.

“Maman!” Marinette called and ran upto her, her tiny feet carrying her as fast as they could.

“I was so worried, sweetie.” Sabine kissed her cheeks holding her in her arms, checking all over for any injuries. 

“I found her at the store near the Iycee.” Emilie spoke up. Marinette had forgotten about her, too happy to be back at home.

“Oh, thank you! I had told her not to go wandering alone but slipped out when I wasn’t looking.” Sabine gave a stern look to Marinette and Marinette looked away, embarrassed. “I can’t thank you enough. Please come in and have something.” Sabine gestured to the door, her other hand carrying Marinette.

“Thank you, but I have to get going.” Emilie politely declined. Marinette noticed Adrien’s crest-fallen expression, lightly tugging his mother’s hand which was ignored.

“Then next time, be sure to swing back the bakery.” Sabine paused. ”I am sorry; I didn’t catch your name.”

“Emilie Agreste.”

“Thank you again, Mrs. Agreste.” 

“Thank you, Mrs. Agreste.” Marinette quipped.

“It was no trouble.” Emilie smiled,. “I’ll be on my way. Bye, Marinette.” her smile widened looking down at Marinette.

“Bye, Marinette.” Adrien waved, a little subdued.

“Bye, Aiden.” Marinette waved back.

She heard him mutter something but couldn’t hear it over the platter of rain, disappearing with his mother around the corner.

*******

Marinette hurried forward towards the exit, pushing the trolley. There were people everywhere, scurrying towards their own destination like rats, some clustered in groups, some having a drink or a snack. She loved Paris, after all it was the city she grew up in, but hated how bustling its airport was.

“Hey!” She heard someone call. And then there were people who went around screaming like maniacs, disregarding the people around them.

“Hey!” she heard the same voice again, but closer. She ignored it. It was highly unlikely that someone was calling out to her. She had flown back from Lille as a surprise for her friends and family. Unless it was someone from her Collège . That was even bigger reason for her to ignore them because really, she was not in the right mood to have small talk.

“Hey, you…in the red jacket! Wait!” That got her attention. 

She turned around and found a tall blond running towards her, waving her purse (shit, her purse!). As soon as he reached her, she snatched it out of his hand and looked through it, finding all of her belongings safe.

“You- you dropped it.” He said a little breathless. His spectacles were a little askew and his skin was tanned. Even though he was dressed in a simple tee and jeans, he looked handsome. Marinette discreetly smoothened out her cotton pants and tried to make her hair more presentable. No one expects to run into an attractive person at an airport least of all Marinette.

“Thanks!” she started. “I am so sorry I didn’t answer at first I thought you were calling out to someone else so I just ignored you. It must have slipped out of my bag and I didn’t notice. It’s just so crowded that-“ 

Her rambling was cut off by his “It’s fine. Everything is in it, yes?”

She nodded, not trusting her tongue. There was an odd expression on his face, as if he was trying to find a missing piece to a puzzle. There was something familiar about him that she couldn’t place. His features stirred something in her brain, just dancing out of her consciousness.

“Okay then, I’ll be on my way. Be careful!” he finally said, realizing that he had being staring at her for a while and left hurriedly with an apologetic smile on his face.

“Thanks again!” she called.

She was confidant she hadn’t met him before because she wouldn’t forget such a handsome face. Maybe she had seen him on TV. He looked good enough to be an actor, or even a model. She was a fashion student; she might have seen him in the hundreds of catalogues she had been through for years.

 _Yes that must be it_ , she thought, as she made her way towards the exit, this time slower, hand clutching the purse tightly. 

She heard the quiet platter of the rain outside.


	2. day 2 : payback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette thanks adrien

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's not much but we'll it's necessary

Adrien waited for his coffee to arrive, scrolling through his phone. It was another day of waking up hoping for an email from schools he had applied to for a job just to be disappointed. His job hunting was not going well. So to take a break, he was back in Paris after years to visit Chloe and few of his other family friends. He loved this residential side of Paris- blemish and homely. 

“Hi!” he heard a familiar voice and looked up to see the women he had met yesterday at the airport. Yesterday she wore a red jacket and black cotton pants; today she was in a yellow sundress with flower patterns on it with her raven hair down. She looked really pretty.

“Hi!” He closed his phone and put it on the table, straightening a little, putting a bright smile on his face.

“I am so sorry for yesterday.” She started, “Do you mind?” she motioned at the chair opposite to his.

“No, of course not!”

“Thanks.” She said, taking the seat and putting her coffee on the table. “I was a mess yesterday. I was in such a hurry I didn’t thank you properly.”

“No, it’s okay.” He was interrupted by the waiter who swiftly put his coffee on the table and left. “It was no trouble.” 

Her phone vibrated and she quickly glanced at it and got up.

“Shit, I am late. I have to go!” She fumbled in her purse, pulling out a few notes. “Let me make up to by paying for your coffee.” 

“No-“he started protesting but she firmly pushed the money towards him.

“I insist.” The firmness in her voice again felt so familiar, just like when he had first seen her on the airport. She 

Before he could open his mouth she had walked away, mouthing a bye to him just before she went out the door, the bell jingling after her.

Why did it feel like he should know her?

*******

Adrien stared at the children playing at the ground longingly. They were playing a game of tag, running around and laughing loudly. He was seated on the swing, Mere chatting to someone a few paces away. She looked over and saw where his eyes were and mouthed him to go up to them. He had tried, not once but several times, to walk up to them and ask them but he would lose his nerve at the last minute and return back to the swing sets.

He saw the pig-tailed girl he had met a few days ago- Marinette- trot up to them. Her mother told her something and with a vigorous nod she was again resuming her trot to the other kids.

He swung his legs half-heartedly, looking down at the sand beneath his feet. He knew that moving from Nice was not a good idea. Nice was warm and sunny; Paris was gloomy and crowded. And he missed his friends.

“Hey, Aiden.” He heard Marinette’s energetic voice and the said girl beckoning him.

He looked around and found no one else.

”Me?” he pointed at his himself.

“You are Aiden right?”

“No, it’s Adrien.” He corrected her, jumping down the swing and walking up to her.

“Right. Well do you wanna play with me and my friends?” she gestured towards the kids.

“Yeah!” he faltered "but i am not sure if-"

“Then c’mon. “She had this finality in her voice that silenced him; grabbed his hand and sprinted, dragging him along. “Nino hasn’t come yet but he will be here in a second. His mom always sends him with some new toy.” And she rambled on about Nino and his toys and Claire and her dresses.

Maybe Paris wasn’t so gloomy after all.


End file.
